Introductions

04-01-2008, 10:44 PM

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to drop in and say 'hello'. I sort of find myself with on foot in the SN forums and the other out. Two of our three boys are hard of hearing which appears to be genetic in nature (no known cause at this time). They do well in all areas with the help of hearing aids and some previous speech therapy, but there are still challenges we face as a family on a daily basis that sit firmly in the 'special needs' category.

I also have an amazing brother with Down's Syndrome, so I have a special place in my heart for all SN families. Having a brother with special needs has been a blessing in many ways. He's one of my favourite people in the entire world

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Hi
I am Traci,a married, SAHM to two wonderful children. I have a 7 year old son, who is the Aspie, and a 3 year old NT Daughter.

We knew he was different early on in his life but always thought it was something else, surely not Autism.

He could raise his head up the first week after birth and we knew he was going to be different when he started talking in sentences so early. He had a weird crawl though, that did not even last but maybe a month until he got up and walked 15 months. We did vax him up until the last set which he got at 15 months, that sent his immune system into chaos for a year. We then turned to holistic healing for our son and have stopped immunizations ever since and treat everything holistically.

My first cousin is dx with HFA and his story; at 18 months, he too was changing and becoming who he is today, a very successful accountant, who loves Anime.

With all the research I have done on Aspergers, I often see myself in the data too.

Our son was always behind in gross/fine motor function and that really became evident as he got to be older. He cannot ride a bike, run without a gait, and his sensory/vestibular issues effect his balance so a flight of stairs to him is a challenge. As well as, curbs and changes in flooring are hard for him.

We were getting quite uncomfortable with those issues and with the questioning of our parenting over his huge tantrums (and a few other red flags) that we ended up getting him tested.

It was hard for us to do because we did not really think it would
change a thing for us, but for our extended family (and my husband),
it really helped them accept our son more and give us a break.

We have been homeschooling since birth we feel. It is the best choice
for our family and for our son. I am so grateful to be able to have
home where he can thrive and be happy and be who he is with out any
trauma to his soul.

We have done OT/PT for a year but quit for various reasons, one being the respectfulness of the staff, and now we are on a waiting list for s much more child friendly therapy center.

When he gets overstimulated he will pace in circles, hand flap and
hum. He hums when he eats and he has since the day he could eat real food. Still have a hard time getting him to use his utensils. I finally am over the cultural pressure to make him use his utensils as it is his sensory issues that cause this. I found a great book "Just take a Bite" that turned that light bulb on for me. We are going to implement ST though when we get into our new facility for his oral sensory issues.

His sensory issues are very marked, from touch to taste, has ears like a bat (I swear he can here us whisper in a closed door room while he is down stairs), he cannot stand the smell of vanilla in anything, and certain lights are hard on him.

He is full of energy and benefits greatly from heavy work.

He has a GREAT mind.
He can recall facts, figures, and minute details, with ease.
His obsessional interests are Oil Pump Jacks, Titanic, and electricity pylons.

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My five year old son has Sensory Processing Disorder. The biggest problems seem to be with his auditory defensiveness and his sensory seeking. I have him in OT once a week, plus he goes to two childrens fitness classes a week. He needs a lot of help getting his sensory needs met every day or he's out of control. We're unschooling, as it seems to be the best fit for our family.

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I'm Kristen, a WAHM to Dominic. My husband's name is Jon and we are also homeschoolers Dominic is 3 1/2 and on the Autism spectrum with Sensory Processing Disorder and a speech delay. We did Attachment Parenting with him as an infant and before we discovered his diagnosis tried other methods as we thought he was just misbehaving. A lot of guilt there, but we are working to eliminate that and are looking to connect with other Attachment Parenting parents for advice in how to work with our son's issues and providing a proper parenting/discipline (for lack of a better word) model for him.

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hi kristen,
i'm so glad you've found us! try not to be too hard on yourself. we all make mistakes .

i believe that AP is the best way for any child, but have found it to be tremendously important in parenting a child w/special needs. please feel free to share your struggles and successes with us here!

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Wow, I just was reading on and came to this section of your forum. I was seeing if I could get some information or tips for a friend who does not have access to the internet. I came across the abbr. for the special needs section and found that GERD / GORD was listed.

I never knew that was considered a special needs, when I talk about it to other parents, they seem to think it's a "special laundry issue".

So I introduce myself. My name is Tonia, as you know. Our daughter is 12.5 months (4 weeks premature) was diagnosed with GERD at 5.5 months. It's been a tough road, and I often try to help other mothers with "screaming" babies and educate there is a thing called GERD that might be something you should look into. I wish I knew sooner about our daughter's condition, maybe I would not have missed out on the first 5.5 months of her life due to crying (her or me).